The 1996 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 48th F.I.M.

Road Racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

World Championship season.

Season summary

Honda's

Mick Doohan Michael Sydney Doohan (born 4 June 1965) is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion, who won five consecutive 500 cc World Championships. Biography Originally from the Gold Coast, Queensland, Doohan attended ...

continued his domination of the 500 class with 8 victories. His Repsol

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

teammate,

Àlex Crivillé Àlex Crivillé Tapias (born 4 March 1970) is a Spanish former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In 1992 he became the first Spaniard to win a 500cc Grand Prix and, in 1999 he became the first Spaniard to win the 500cc World Championship. Bio ...

beat him to the line twice in Austria and the Czech Republic.

Luca Cadalora Luca Cadalora (born 17 May 1963) is an Italian former professional motorcycle racer who is the 125 cc World Champion, and 250 cc World Champion and 8-time Premier Class race winner. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1 ...

, now with the Kanemoto Honda team took two wins for the fourth consecutive year. Suzuki's hopes were dashed when

Daryl Beattie Daryl Beattie (born 26 September 1970 in Charleville, Queensland, Australia) is a former Grand Prix solo motorcycle road racer. Motorsport career Beattie posted several good results at the beginning of the 1992 500cc Grand Prix season then ...

suffered head injuries in a pre-season crash. He returned only to crash in Spain then two races later in France which effectively ended his career.

Loris Capirossi Loris Capirossi (born 4 April 1973) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, currently serving as Safety Advisor to Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. He is a 9-time Premier Class race wi ...

won his first 500 Grand Prix when Crivillé collided with his teammate, Doohan on the last lap of the Australian round. A new European team made its debut with the Elf team using a

Swissauto Swissauto is an engine company from Burgdorf, Switzerland, Burgdorf, Switzerland, best known for the V4 engine used in the, ELF 500 ROC, ELF, Muz 500, MuZ and Pulse 500, Pulse 500cc Grand Prix motorcycles and Superside, World Championship Sidecars. ...

sidecar A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''. ...

engine in an ROC chassis. It proved to be fast but unreliable. Honda introduced the NSR500V, a V twin as a cost-effective alternative for privateer teams.

Max Biaggi Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two ri ...

claimed his third consecutive 250 championship for

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer founded immediately after World War II in Noale, Italy, by Alberto Beggio. The company started as a manufacturer of bicycles and moved on to manufacture scooters and small-capacity motorcycles. ...

Haruchika Aoki is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was a two-time F.I.M. 125cc world champion. He is the youngest of three Aoki brothers who have competed in motorcycle Grand Prix races. Aoki began his Grand Prix career in 1993 with Honda. He ...

repeated as the 125 champion for Honda. Newcomers winning their first Grands Prix were

Norifumi Abe , or was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer who was previously a 500 cc/MotoGP rider. He died in a road traffic crash in October 2007. Career Abe was born to , a paved flat track rider, in Tokyo. When he was eleven, Abe began raci ...

in the 500 class,

Olivier Jacque Olivier Jacque (born 29 August 1973 in Villerupt, France) is a French former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Career He was second in the 250cc European Championship in 1994, before moving on to the 250cc World Championship. H ...

in the 250 class and

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...

in the 125 class.

1996 Grand Prix season calendar

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1996: †† = Saturday race

Calendar changes

* The

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

moved from the

Bugatti Circuit The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe (after the 1906 French Grand Prix triangle circuit) located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport Race track, race course, chiefly known as the venue for ...

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

to the

Circuit Paul Ricard The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ho ...

due to overbid in

, the

returned in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. * The

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in . History The A ...

returned from the calendar after a one-year absence and moved from the

Salzburgring The Salzburgring is a motorsport race track located in Plainfeld, east of Salzburg. Key Facts Track Length Bends 15 Straights ...

to the

Österreichring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later sho ...

, one year before the track was renamed as the A1-Ring. * The

Indonesian Grand Prix The Indonesian Grand Prix was an open-wheel racing car motor race, held intermittently as motorsport ambitions varied in Indonesia. History Held originally at the Jaya Ancol Circuit near Jakarta in 1976 as part of the burgeoning Rothmans Inte ...

was added to the calendar. * The

Argentine Grand Prix The Argentine Grand Prix (Spanish: ''Gran Premio de Argentina'') was a round of the Formula One championship, held intermittently from to , all at the same autodrome in the Argentine national capital of Buenos Aires. Origins and history The Bu ...

was initially scheduled, but was eventually taken off the calendar. * The

European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...

was renamed the Catalan Grand Prix.

Participants

500cc participants

Results and standings

Grands Prix

†† = Saturday race

500cc riders' standings

;Scoring system Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

250cc riders' standings

;Scoring system Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

125cc riders' standings

;Scoring system Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

References

* Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). ''Continental Circus 1949-2000''. Chronosports S.A. * {{DEFAULTSORT:1996 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season